Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan instructed Chief Secretary V Venu to retract a contentious directive issued by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The directive had restricted science and technology institutions from sharing their insights and study reports with the media concerning the recent fatal landslides in Wayanad.
In a statement released on Thursday night, Vijayan clarified that the SDMA's directive to scientific institutions and scientists not to visit the disaster-hit Meppadi Panchayat in Wayanad and to refrain from expressing their views was misleading.
"The state government does not have such a policy," Vijayan asserted, according to a report on PTI. "The Chief Secretary has been directed to intervene immediately and withdraw the communication that conveyed such a message."
The scientific community had earlier expressed strong opposition to the directive issued by State Relief Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Tinku Biswal. The note had instructed all science and technology institutions in the state to avoid field visits to Meppadi Panchayat, where devastating landslides on Tuesday resulted in numerous fatalities.
The directive further stated that scientists should refrain from sharing their opinions and study findings with the media and required prior permission from the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority for conducting any studies in the affected area.
The landslides that struck Kerala's Wayanad district on Tuesday morning claimed at least 300 lives and injured many others, prompting widespread concern and criticism over the handling aftermath of the disaster.
Meanwhile, the unidentified bodies of those who died in the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad will be buried in public graveyards in the hill district, authorities announced on Friday. Facilities for burial have been arranged in graveyards at various locations, including Kalpetta municipality, Vythiri, Muttil, Kaniyambatta, Padinjathara, Thondarnad, Edavaka, and Mullankolly Grama Panchayats, according to an official statement.